Marquise

“You got it, Marq. I will make sure that I deliver it to her after we get there. Baron wanted me to come and tell you to get dressed. You leave in thirty.” He walks out of the room and I head towards the shower. Standing under the water, I wonder if this is what it feels like to be baptized? Even so, I know she blessed me from the moment I pulled her into my arms and car. I get out of the shower and into my black and cream Kiton Tux. Before I know it, we are in the limo heading to the ranch.

“Are you nervous yet?” Prince asks while checking his phone.

“No. Why do you ask that?” he nods towards my hands and I look down. I note that I have been rubbing my ring finger without realizing it. Needing the feel of the platinum on my finger, a constant reminder that I have given myself to someone and she to me. “It’s not nerves, brother. It’s anticipation. I feel like I have been waiting for this moment my whole life. Certainly from the moment I laid eyes on her. I just want to get to the site and hear her say those two words that will make her mine forever.”

“I am happy for you Marq. I never thought you would find someone that would open you up. If I never said it, I love all three of you. Thank you for taking care of me in the foster home and in life. No one would find better brothers than the ones I have.” I look at Duke and then at the other two and note their mouths are also open. It is unusual for us to have emotional conversations with one another, and for it to come from Duke the quietest of all of us...well...let’s just say, we are all shocked.

“I second that.” Prince says grabbing a bottle of 1959 Dom Perignon and four champagne glasses. Theirs is custom designed for the best man and groomsman, and mine for the groom. “To brothers, family, and Mom and Dad.” he continues once he has poured some for all of us.

“To love. May you two find it as well.'' I take a sip and close my eyes, allowing it to settle inside of me and bring me back to the moment I am about to experience. I recall when she told me the colors of the wedding and that they were going to be cream and champagne. She said they are calming colors. She looked a bit unsure, worried about what I thought. I assured her I could care less about the colors. However, when she told my mom she didn’t want it in a church, I thought mom was going to faint. But, like the amazing woman she is she asked Chrissy where she wanted to have it and set about finding it. Chrissy wanted something outdoors and in tune with nature, she’d said. I imagine this has something to do with her time spent on the street.

In the end, my mom found a big ranch on the edge of town with a huge backyard and a lake at the end of the property. Chrissy loved it. She didn’t want anything extravagant and lavish, but something personable, warm, and in an intimate setting. She even went so far as to tell me her dress was unconventional. I don’t really care as long as she walks down the aisle towards me when the time comes. When she asked me if there was anything I wanted, I just asked that she let me pick the music for the whole affair. She looked at me with curiosity but said okay.

Walking up to the ranch, I am in awe at how beautiful and full of love and life it looks. It’s like she wanted, intimate and calming.

“Son.” I hear my dad come up and I turn to face the man who taught me to be a man of honor, above all else.

“Dad.” I answer, as he hugs me and puts our foreheads together. I close my eyes allowing myself to take in the closeness. I have spent so much time running and trying to be immune to it. Chrissy changed all of that. Now, I feel...everything!!

“Is she your deliverance, son?” I look at him and can’t help but smile, remembering the conversation he used to have with my brothers and me.

He told us how, when he met our mom, he was simply a man going from one business deal to the next with no future other than money and an ambition to be a politician. At the age of 30 he thought he was having a heart attack. He went to the ER and there is where he met our mother. She was the charge nurse at the time and happened to be working in the pulmonary unit. After spending a few hours telling him, he wasn’t having a heart attack but suffering from anxiety instead, she gave him some tips for dealing with it and recognizing when it was happening. He asked her for her number under the pretense of needing some extra support. He said by the time he left the hospital he knew he was in love and that she would be his wife. He said she was his deliverance. She showed him what he's missing out on in life, living only for work. He has always said, “make sure the woman you choose to marry is your deliverance.” I have held onto that this whole time.